Kind of tired tonight. We woke at 4 AM to travel from Germany to England. Got some free time in the afternoon to visit Cambridge University - Quite impressive. Pics aren't downloaded yet, but will hopefully have some tomorrow night.

This entry is still on interviews. Particularly how to end an interview. This is a really crucial point. Up to the end, things are pretty scripted. They ask you a set of questions and you give your replies. This is the same for the other candidates as well. But at the end they put the ball in your court. They ask if you have any questions for them?

This question is the beginning of make or break time.

First there are some don'ts. Don't ever ask about salary, benefits, work week, overtime, any of that stuff. It will put you in a bad light. If you are selected as the successful candidate, you will have plenty of opportunity to ask these questions before you accept.

The next thing you don't want to do is seem desperate. You need to stay positive and energetic. You should have some good questions to ask them. Spend lots of time before the interview planning several options. The reason you need several, is they are likely to have answered some of them during the interview. You want to be able to ask a good question or two otherwise you will look like a putz.

A couple of good options are the one I mentioned yesterday about work environment or perhaps ask about outlook for the company for the next few years.

After asking the couple of questions and getting the answers, you have the opportunity to make a closing statement. I have seen people completely win jobs on this point. If you can be sincere and look the committee members in the eyes and tell them why you want this job and how it will be of a benefit to them, you can score big. Of course the risk is if you don't come across right, you can lose some too. You almost need to read the situation and determine if you think you can make a good impact. If yes, do it. If no, don't risk it.

The Bottom Line: The last five minutes of an interview can be the most important. Spend plenty of advance time planning out your options.